I live in N. Cornwall Township in Lebanon County and don't pick anything up from Berks County when at home, when I'm at work which is about 3 miles east of where I live I can pick some of Berks County up but not much.
Berks County - Proposed 700/800mhz Digital Trunked Radio System
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Steveradio
Member
Over the weekend Lehigh Co stations got called to Hawk Mountain for a Rescue/search.. Lehigh county told units to switch over to the old 33.94 and they patched units. You could tell those talking were digital on Berks end.
Thought they added new frequencies for mutual aid companies responding into Berks and why pick 3394 to operate?
Thought they added new frequencies for mutual aid companies responding into Berks and why pick 3394 to operate?
They left a few old frequencies in for units who still had the old systems installed in their rigs.
They still keep 155.295 , 155.070 , 33.94 and another 4x.xx MHz frequency to an active talk group for interops outside of the u call/ tac's , V call/ tac's and 8 call/ tac's
As we are finding out , there is more than one way to skin a cat and saving thousands of dollars.
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They still keep 155.295 , 155.070 , 33.94 and another 4x.xx MHz frequency to an active talk group for interops outside of the u call/ tac's , V call/ tac's and 8 call/ tac's
As we are finding out , there is more than one way to skin a cat and saving thousands of dollars.
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As of lately, there has been a lot of what appears to be road crew type of communications on 8 call 90.
Not sure if this is out of county traffic being picked up on the repeater pairs or municipalities in Berks just handing over radios to their road crews , but trying to monitor for public safety interops is annoying as all hell.
Two weeks prior , someone was trying to teach someone how to back a trailer into a parking space. WTF....
Any wonder the dispatchers turn the volume down in the consoles and don't answer when you need them.
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Not sure if this is out of county traffic being picked up on the repeater pairs or municipalities in Berks just handing over radios to their road crews , but trying to monitor for public safety interops is annoying as all hell.
Two weeks prior , someone was trying to teach someone how to back a trailer into a parking space. WTF....
Any wonder the dispatchers turn the volume down in the consoles and don't answer when you need them.
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W3DMV
Member
Both Reading and the county have public works talk
groups on the system. If they bother you, lock those
TG'S out...
I doubt that the county dispatchers even monitor those
groups.......
groups on the system. If they bother you, lock those
TG'S out...
I doubt that the county dispatchers even monitor those
groups.......
I'm not talking about those talk groups. I'm talking about the misuse of the national interops 8call 90 and 8 tac channels that are repeated.
Some of us are first responders who use those for mutual aid and monitor those in our radios.
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Some of us are first responders who use those for mutual aid and monitor those in our radios.
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Septa3371CSX1
Member
I know Penn DOT uses the 8TAC channels for traffic control at work sites instead of the simplex Open Scam talk around channel. That could very well be who it is.
Interesting
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I have been recording that traffic in 8Call90 down here in Norristown. Unable to identify the user as of yet. I suspected PennDOT at first because they sometimes use the conventional channels on Starnet for traffic control and those two channels are in the same profile as the 8call and 8tac channels.
It is definitely annoying and interferes with the primary purpose of the channel.
It is definitely annoying and interferes with the primary purpose of the channel.
bgottschallberks
Member
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- Feb 14, 2012
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This is PennDoT in eastern Lancaster County. We have repeatedly complained to the state interoperability coordinator about this and it stops for a while and then starts again after a few days. The PennDoT crews don't even know what channel they are on (as I have personally "discussed" it with them on the air). They get told by their foreman to "go to channel 5" on their radio and that is where they do their work for the day. Channel 5 could be 8Call90, 8Tac92 or a low power tactical channel (where they are supposed to be).
If you hear this, I suggest calling and asking them to identify themselves and then telling them they are "on a public safety channel intended for use for national interoperability." You will then hear them call a supervisor and say "we got in trouble again, where should we go?" Usually in about 10-15 minutes they figure out a new channel to go to. It is like the lottery. Sometimes the new channel is a simplex and sometimes it is another 800 interop. I have already told them about being on Tac91 only to have them switch to Call90. Then I have to call and say, "no, you made it worse, try again."
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Gotta love it
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Sounds like this has been going on for some time. I suggest everyone that hears this make note of the date, time, and channel/frequency. Those of you that do, send the notation to Mr. Gottschall. Mr. Gottschall you notify the FCC enforcement bureau. Thats the only way they'll learn.
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Just because their broken sky doesn't work, they want to play in other sand boxes
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I've been away awhile and just catching up on this thread...
For those having trouble with the PSR-800 and Berks System - I do believe the solution is somewhere within the threshold settings, however for the life of me I have not been able to get mine set right for use at my home. I think the problem lies when the radio is located equidistant (or at least receives signals with equal signal strength) from two different simulcast sites. The radio has trouble deciding which data signal to follow, which results in the choppy reception. I actually think adding a 700/800 tuned antenna makes this worse, as it seems its better to receive signals from fewer simulcast sites than more of them! Where I live near Mt. Penn my PSR-800 cannot track the system because I believe it is receiving competing signals with similar strength from two simulcast sites. I have played endlessly with the data threshold limits and cannot find a solution. However, when I move a few miles away, a the radio apparently gets a stronger signal from one of the sites somewhere, the default threshold settings seems to like it, and the radio receives the system just fine.
If you are having choppy audio, try moving around and see if it gets better.
For those having trouble with the PSR-800 and Berks System - I do believe the solution is somewhere within the threshold settings, however for the life of me I have not been able to get mine set right for use at my home. I think the problem lies when the radio is located equidistant (or at least receives signals with equal signal strength) from two different simulcast sites. The radio has trouble deciding which data signal to follow, which results in the choppy reception. I actually think adding a 700/800 tuned antenna makes this worse, as it seems its better to receive signals from fewer simulcast sites than more of them! Where I live near Mt. Penn my PSR-800 cannot track the system because I believe it is receiving competing signals with similar strength from two simulcast sites. I have played endlessly with the data threshold limits and cannot find a solution. However, when I move a few miles away, a the radio apparently gets a stronger signal from one of the sites somewhere, the default threshold settings seems to like it, and the radio receives the system just fine.
If you are having choppy audio, try moving around and see if it gets better.
Went to Cabellas today. I programmed the Berks County system into my 325 Scanner. It was my understanding that with Reading they were encrypted. But what's interesting is that when the scanner stopped at the Police Dispatch Frequency you hear nothing more than R2D2 type audio.
I always assumed that when a system was encrypted you didn't hear anything. At least in Montgomery County Upper Merion Township is encrypted and there is no audio or anything.
Upper Merion many years ago were on the VHF band. They had set frequencies that a scanner operator could enter into their scanner but it sounded like they were always transmitting off frequency. Once you found out what that frequency was you could receive them just fine. I just wonder if the Berks/Reading system is doing the same thing? I use D-Star and that is a digital signal. Which cannot be picked up with a regular scanner or ham radio.
Can anyone shed any light on this. Mark Griffin, KB3Z
I always assumed that when a system was encrypted you didn't hear anything. At least in Montgomery County Upper Merion Township is encrypted and there is no audio or anything.
Upper Merion many years ago were on the VHF band. They had set frequencies that a scanner operator could enter into their scanner but it sounded like they were always transmitting off frequency. Once you found out what that frequency was you could receive them just fine. I just wonder if the Berks/Reading system is doing the same thing? I use D-Star and that is a digital signal. Which cannot be picked up with a regular scanner or ham radio.
Can anyone shed any light on this. Mark Griffin, KB3Z
Septa3371CSX1
Member
All law enforcement talkgroups in Berks County are encrypted. The noise you hear is the encrypted voice.
Encrypted voice is always heard on Phase II systems. Phase I just gets passed by but on Phase II you always hear it. At least that is the way it works on my 536's
Mike
Mike
This has been my experience, too. You need to lock out or delete all the encrypted talkgroups.
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